lousy service
1
3.9
- noun
- /ˈlaʊzi ˈsɜrvɪs/
- Informal
:
mal servicio
- After experiencing the lousy service at the hotel, we decided to check out early and find a new place to stay.
Examples
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I will tell you, though, I will be the first one to leave a lousy tip for lousy service.
Blog text (4) -
We'd end up with half-hearted, lousy service if we did, anyhow.
Blog text (14) -
But remember, federally funded care is a slippery slope leading to higher taxes and lousy service.
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Unless you've sort out that the NHS will go bankrupt and you'll provide a lousy service to your patients.
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The restaurant received numerous complaints about its lousy service and long wait times for food.
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Many customers were unhappy with the lousy service they experienced during their last visit to the café.
Synonyms
Work or help that is very low quality and disappointing
Antonyms
How Bad
- Informal
1
3.9
5
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'lousy' (very poor) directly modifies the noun 'service' (assistance), so the phrase composition yields the clear meaning 'service that is poor in quality.' This is a straightforward adjectival-nominal combination found across languages and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Lousy service uses lousy, a word that may come from 'louse', a small bug. Long ago, things with lice were seen as dirty or poor, so lousy came to mean 'very bad', and that's why lousy service means 'service that is very bad'.